GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



It is a coin toss on what could happen when CARNAGE finds out she is missing. The demon god might choose to investigate further when it finds out that she can't be reached or overlook her absence because it isn't so strange that no one can reach her. She might be invading a plane and she doesn't want anyone to know so she kept her whereabouts secret. But if the demon god investigates and actually discovers the Reaper, then his days will end. 

The Reaper's smile widened despite her threat. 

That wasn't the reaction she wanted. So she made sure to drive the point home. "Every demon god will hunt you once they know what you are. You will have nowhere to hide. You have to release me now or CARNAGE will look for me."

If CARNAGE or any demon god finds out that the Reaper is an Abomination, then they will all try to kill him. It is not an unprecedented situation. Abominations have existed before and they have been killed. Any demon king is hunted as soon as they are determined to be king of kings. 

Demon gods eradicate any king of kings. It is not because of the threat that they pose to them now but because of the abomination that they will become as demon gods. Kings of kings become able to absorb demon gods when they become demon gods. That is something other demon gods can't do. But it is not a good thing at all. 

A demon god is already a creature bordering on chaos. They have no fixed form and are like budding eldritch beings. Fusing with their sin and becoming the manifestation of their sin makes them struggle with their sanity. So absorbing each other is not a good thing at all. It will create a being of pure madness that raves and lives only for destruction. 

Such a being is an abomination that threatens every demon and every plane within the realm tree. The abomination will eventually be eliminated by mother high heaven but they would have harmed other demon gods first. So every demon god endeavors to get rid of any king of kings that they encounter before they can become a threat.

Absorbing other demon gods for power is a shortcut to power but it is one that the price is too much to pay. The worst thing is that no one will be able to know the price they will pay until they have paid it. Then they will forget about the price because the price they paid is their sanity. There is no stopping the creation of an abomination once a demon god absorbs another demon god. 

The Reaper continued to smile. The mockery and disdain in his eyes are obvious. She knows she must look and sound like a fool to him. She knows that her threats are unlikely to work. But what other choice does she have? She has none. Her life is at stake so she decided to risk looking like a fool and spouting foolish things for the chance that she might live. She is that desperate.

Aeternus or the one they call "The Reaper" wasn't fazed by her ominous words. He finally stood up from his comfortable throne. Then he took a step forward. That single step echoed throughout the plane. It struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it. That step also brought him before his five guests. 

The five demon kings flinched. They took a few steps back to create space between them. They know that it is futile but they still did so in order to maintain a vague sense of safety. 

They thought his presence felt heavy before. They are changing that evaluation of him now that he is so close to them. The gravity of his presence is overwhelming. It is almost suffocating. They don't breathe at all but they can feel a tightness in their chest. Even their beating hearts are struggling to pump blood through their bodies. His presence weighs on them spiritually, physically, and mentally.

Unlike them, Aeternus is actually feeling happy right now. He said with a smile, "Truly, the best way to set a trap is to use bait."

Then he spread his arm wide and grinned at them. "Welcome to my plane my esteemed guest. I rarely have visitors so I am happy that you visited me like so."

"Please let us live. We will..." one of them began begging for mercy but they shut up when they found that their mouth couldn't move anymore. 

Space froze around their lips so they can't use their mouths to talk. The person can still communicate with their divine sense but they didn't because they got the hint. They are to keep quiet until he permits them to talk.

"Where was I?" He asked them, but no one answered. It was a rhetorical question. They are not supposed to answer and they shouldn't answer even if they want to.

So he continued without interruption. "You are at my mercy so you will do as I say. We will play a game. You lot will fight and kill each other. You will entertain me with your death. I might let the last person alive go if they entertain me well enough. That will be after extensive binding oaths and contracts. But salvation is possible. Do you understand me?"

Their faces changed when they heard what he said. They were listless before. But their faces went through a series of changes all because of hope. Their death was certain a moment ago. They were to die and nothing could save them. That was certain. But that has changed now. There is uncertainty about their future. 

The uncertainty is both good and bad. But it is hopeful. It means that they might die or they might survive. Despair receded within them like a tide. Hope sparked in the darkness that it left behind. They have something to look forward to now.